Strategic Missions - October-December, 1892
October 1892 Mission 1: A Ghoulish End "Know this, my brethren Heaven is clear and all the clouds are gone - - '' ''The Proper Sort shall flourish now, good times are coming on - -'' ''The evil that was threatened late to all out our degree '' ''Hath passed in discord and debate, and, Hey then, up go we!" Lana, Gibbs and David, now all Seasoned fighters against the Cabal, are sent to the Ghoul's nest to try and burn them out with firebombs. After a brutal battle, during which one of the town toughs that has been watching the graveyard saves Gibbs from a flaming Ghoul, they are victorious though one or two Ghouls may have escaped ... Jeffrey, Gibbs' rescuer, joins the Lodge. The Mission is a Triumph! Mission 2: Finding out if Fisk is Boxing Clever Billy "Brainbox" and Harold go to take part in more of Fisk's activities, trying to discover more about his connection with "The Night Watch". Taking part in several bouts of fighting, Billy gains valuable fighting experience, while Harold is able to take note of several attendees that seem to be of a 'higher social caliber' as well as overhearing several conversations in which "The Night Watch" are mentionned. He cannot be sure that Fisk is a member of the organisation and works 'with' them, though he most certainly works 'for' them. Harold's kindness to a large fellow by the name of "Big" John, causes him to become favourable towards them, and he is recruited to join the Lodge. The Mission is a Triumph! Final Cabal Threat: 0 New Cabal Threat Level: 7 November 1892 Mission 1: Fight Night at Fisk's "Nor dread nor hope attend a dying animal; A man awaits his end dreading and hoping all; Many times he died, many times rose again. A great man in his pride confronting murderous men Casts derision upon supersession of breath; He knows death to the bone, man has created death." '' Billy and Harold are joined by Lana and Dave in looking further into the activities within Fisk's organisation. After Lana and Billy ask around, they learn of another 'Fight Night' - So Billy signs himself up, and Dave and Harold take them down to the Docks in the Lodge's Steam Launch. For reasons unknown to the Rippers, it would appear that Fisk has tightened security. As Dave is not known to Fisk's men, he is not allowed to enter. Harold stays with him on the Steam Launch as Billy and Lana head inside. Inside … Lana works the crowd, and acts as Billy's 'water girl' while he boxes and talks with the fighters – both pumping folks for information while trying not to sound like they're pumping them for information. Then they spot the Man in the Red Sash going into a private room with Fisk … they need to get closer somehow to try to overhear. : Back outside, a group of toughs approach the steam launch, demanding a 'Dock Tax' - a fight ensues, but it doesn't go well for the Rippers, Dave is killed, and Harold left bleeding in the launch after he has seen the 'Tax Men' off. Working on the layout of the warehouse, Billy and Lana find a space in an adjacent storeroom and try to listen in. There is a broken panel in between the two rooms, and they sneak closer to see what they can listen in on. They overhear something about Fisk being unhappy about 'providing men that never came back …' Then disaster strikes – a couple of Fisk's men come into the room to do some business of their own, and spot the two Rippers listening at the broken panel and writing down notes! … Lana, thinking quickly, uses her 'natural attributes' to distract the men, and spins them a yarn, saying they working for Fisk who is doubtful over whether The Man in the Red Sash can really be trusted and wanted a record of the conversation. The men are taken in, but the moment is lost, as when they have their privacy again, the conversation is over and Fisk and The Man in the Res Sash have left. They return to the Steam Launch only to find that Harold has succumbed to his wounds. The Mission is a Standoff. Final Cabal Threat: 7 December 1892 Mission 1: Dark Doings at the Fighting Ring “''Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! Long has it waved on high, And many an eye has danced to see That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout, And burst the cannon's roar; The meteor of the ocean air Shall sweep the clouds no more!” Lana and Billy make their way back to Fisks warehouse, There appear to be some new 'fighters' doing a trial this evening. At the end of the night they notice that the losers of the trial matches appear to be strangely absent – none of them have returned from the changing rooms. They resolve to investigate the back room beyond the changing rooms, but must first get past the guard that Fisk has put on the door. Lana draws the guard away, allowing Billy to sneak through the back door. He sees several unconscious 'fighters' being loaded onto a wagon by a couple of men. As the last one is loaded, he shouts out, trying to stop them. The scrawnier of the two men turns to face him, while the other jumps on the wagon to drive off. As Billy punches the scrawny fellow, a change comes over him, and he grows both muscle and mass rapidly, then strikes back .... Billy finishes him off and he reverts to his normal state. The wagon is long gone, but one of the 'losers' has fallen off, and is taken back to the Lodge, where he is healed and "Cauliflower" Carl.decides to join the lodge. The Mission is a Triumph! Mission 2: A Search of the Docklands Gibbs heads into the London Docklands to scope out the area for any any Cabal activity. While investigating a murder in the Limehouse district, Gibbs discovers an unusual set of footprints and multiple puncture wounds on the victim's torso. Although the prints are obviously human, whoever made them moved with short jumps, rather than walking. The puncture wounds look like they were made by a three-pronged weapon. Knowing that the Lodge has a Library particularly suited to human anatomy, Due to Miss. House, Gibbs notes down the victims wounds, and measures the distance between each jump and how far the wounds go into the body before he leaves the scene but is doomed to never return to the lodge. He is found dead himself, suffering from the same wounds that are noted in his pocketbook. The Mission is a Disaster! Final Cabal Threat: 6 Next Page Contents